Too Careful and Troubled?

Three of my favorite people in the New Testament are Mary, Martha and Jesus. Not in that order. Anyways, we meet them all together in Luke chapter 10. 

They seem to be good friends with Jesus. Martha invites him to her house, where Mary lives also. Jesus has been traveling a lot and must have been tired. Martha starts to make food for him and is busy in the kitchen. Meanwhile, Mary sits at Jesus’ feet and listens to Jesus talk. Martha gets annoyed that she has to do all the work instead of having Mary help her quickly so that they could both listen to Jesus. She asks the Master to have her sister Mary help her, and Jesus takes a moment to teach us all through these two wonderful women.

When the average Christian is asked who these two women are, the typical response is that Mary is the sister that knows what’s important and listens to Jesus, and that Martha, although she means well in trying to serve Jesus, is missing the point in life because she doesn’t stop to listen to him. Jesus himself seems to make this point when he says:

“Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)

I have always assumed that Martha was missing the point by being so busy. What bothered me more is that I identify a lot more with Martha than Mary, and I know a lot of other people that do too. Does that mean that I and others like Martha are typically missing the point?? That doesn’t seem right… service is supposed to be a good thing right?

Luckily, another interpretation of this story was brought to my attention this week that put me more at ease. My professor said to think about these two women in opposite roles. What if Mary had been annoyed with Martha for clanking around in the kitchen, and asked Jesus to make her sit down or at least be quiet so they could focus on their conversation. Is it possible that Jesus would have simply said “Mary, Mary, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Martha hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her”?

This flip in the situation brought so much relief to me. First of all, it means that because I identify with Martha more, I am not inherently busy with the wrong things.

Second of all, the “problem” with Martha here is that she is trying to make her sister more like herself. Our goal should never be to have others conform to our strengths; it should always be to point them to Christ.

The third lesson, and my favorite, is that Jesus is always on the defensive. He never sides with those who point fingers. With the woman caught in adultery, the woman at the well, and with Mary, Jesus is quick to protect the one in the “line of fire”, regardless of actual fault. It is never our place to judge, only to be patient and to help people come closer to Christ through loving example, not accusation.